Houstonian 1987 - The Community. 1987. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. University of Houston Digital Library. Web. March 31, 2015. http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/yearb/item/25027/show/24895.

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index.cpd

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Item Description

Title

The Community

Format (IMT)

image/jpeg

File Name

yearb_1987_267.jpg

Transcript

ist Angers Black Greeks
After tempers cooled down
nd administrative actions were
-evalutated, members and
;aders of black Greek organi-
ations believe that their pres-
nce on campus as active, orga-
lized groups still makes school
officials uneasy.
It all started when a letter,
vritten by Dean of Students
xmnie Wallace, went out to all
JH Greek organizations, stat-
ng that "the following activi-
ies may not be performed or
equired by students:"
•Greetings by pledges
*Pledge lines
♦Running or walking in a
line or individually carrying
or wearing objects that are
potentially harmful (i.e.,
canes, bricks, plants, dog
collars, paddles, etc.)
*Loud group or individual
greetings to active members
*Uniform dress that could be
considered demeaning or
out of the ordinary
*Chanting or stomping by
pledges, in a group or as
individuals, unless it was a
scheduled practice or performance
*Rides or walks of pledges or
actives.
*Any other activity that
could be dangerous to a
person's health or safety.
Assistant Dean of Students
and brother of the Kappa Alpha
Psi fraternity, William King,
said organizations must realize
the danger of hazing. "What I
am trying to do now is encourage the Greeks to re-evaluate
their pledging processes and
make an ongoing effort to alert
everyone about hazing," said
King.
A lot of organizational members claimed off and on-the-
record that racism, not hazing,
was the underlying factor for
placing restrictions on the
groups. Direct attacks were directed toward Wallace pinpointing her as "the one who
had been after black Greeks for
so long," but school officials
said that fatal incidents at other
universities, including Texas
A&M and the University of
Texas, were partially responsible
for the increased attention
Greek groups received.
After the situation drew
more attention, Paul Moore,
Vice President for Student Affairs, stepped in and overruled
actions taken by Wallace, calling the list of prohibitions a
preliminary outline of "concerns-not policy."
"Connie Wallace and William King have been concerned
with this issue of Greek activities. They are trying to represent
policy when they should not
have been," said Moore.
Before Moore became aware
of the actions of the Dean of
Students Office, black Greek
leaders lambasted the "concerns."
"We didn't understand why
we didn't have any input in deciding these rules," LaWanda
Johnson, treasurer of Delta Sigma Theta, said.
"When we got the list, we
were under the impression that
it was only a draft, but no — we
were told that these are now the
rules," Johnson said.
Wallace said the "list was
compiled from examples of activities observed or heard about,
that caused concern with reference to activities of groups."
She added that communication
between parties involved was
incomplete.
"We weren't aware there was
a problem with our traditional
activities on campus," said
Walter Hobdy of Kappa Alpha
Psi.
"The rules Wallace made up
were so blatantly against black
Greeks. It all seemed so totalitarian — since we were given no
chance to have a say in the matter. If rules were to be changed,
then every Greek organization
should have been examined
across the board," said Hobdy.
Suspicious that UH is not interested in having black Greeks
active on campus, Larry Green
of Alpha Phi Alpha asked, "If
the University does not support
us in our activities, how can
they expect us to support the
University?"
The question was well taken
by school officals; the restrictions became null and void, and
black Greeks continued to perform their activities on campus
without interference from administration.
— Carmella Roberts
269